A known apparatus for treating and/or utilizing the energy of a gaseous medium containing combustible components is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,811. The known apparatus includes a burner having a heatable combustion chamber, a feed duct for feeding the gaseous medium into the combustion chamber, and a cylindrical reaction chamber through which the gaseous medium can flow. The reaction chamber of the known apparatus includes an inlet through which the gaseous medium flows into the reaction chamber and an outlet through which the gaseous medium passes out of the reaction chamber into a hot gas duct that discharges the treated gaseous medium from the reaction chamber.
The known apparatus is designed for treating hydrocarbon-containing exhaust air. The known apparatus includes a pressure container in which a cylindrical reaction chamber is formed. In the known apparatus, a compressor feeds the hydrocarbon-containing exhaust air into the reaction chamber. A burner of the known apparatus includes a flame tube directed laterally into the reaction chamber. The exhaust air is admitted via the flame tube into the reaction chamber where the exhaust air is swirled.
In the known apparatus, the flow path of the gaseous medium through the reaction chamber may differ in length, which disadvantageously results in non-uniform residence periods for the gaseous medium in the reaction chamber. Thus, a uniform chemical conversion of the combustible components of the gaseous medium is not readily possible in the known apparatus.
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